from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Slender \Slen"der\, a. [Compar. {Slenderer}; superl.
{Slenderest}.] [OE. slendre, sclendre, fr. OD. slinder thin,
slender, perhaps through a French form; cf. OD. slinderen,
slidderen, to creep; perh. akin to E. slide.]
1. Small or narrow in proportion to the length or the height;
not thick; slim; as, a slender stem or stalk of a plant.
"A slender, choleric man." --Chaucer.
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She, as a veil down to the slender waist,
Her unadorned golden tresses wore. --Milton.
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2. Weak; feeble; not strong; slight; as, slender hope; a
slender constitution.
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Mighty hearts are held in slender chains. --Pope.
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They have inferred much from slender premises. --J.
H. Newman.
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The slender utterance of the consonants. --J. Byrne.
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3. Moderate; trivial; inconsiderable; slight; as, a man of
slender intelligence.
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A slender degree of patience will enable him to
enjoy both the humor and the pathos. --Sir W.
Scott.
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4. Small; inadequate; meager; pitiful; as, slender means of
support; a slender pittance.
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Frequent begging makes slender alms. --Fuller.
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5. Spare; abstemious; frugal; as, a slender diet.
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The good Ostorius often deigned
To grace my slender table with his presence.
--Philips.
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6. (Phon.) Uttered with a thin tone; -- the opposite of
broad; as, the slender vowels long e and i.
[1913 Webster] -- {Slen"der*ly}, adv. -- {Slen"der*ness},
n.
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